The Jazz, who are a Western Conference-best 30-9 since January 8th, moved into first place in the Northwest Division after Denver's loss to Dallas on Monday. Paul Millsap added 14 points and 10 rebounds off the bench, while Mehmet Okur donated 13 points and Wesley Matthews contributed 12 points in the victory, the club's fifth in six games. Andrei Kirilenko sat out with a strained left calf.

"This team has been hard for us to play. We beat them over there by two points, and we had a difficult time trying to score against their zone; and we had a difficult time trying to beat them tonight," Utah head coach Jerry Sloan said.

Al Harrington led the Knicks with 26 points and 17 rebounds, David Lee added 16 points, Sergio Rodriguez collected 14 points and Tracy McGrady filled the stat sheet with 13 points, six assists and four rebounds. The Knicks have dropped the first two games of a five-game western road swing.

Utah couldn't miss in the opening 12 minutes, making a stunning 17-of-20 shots from the floor and scoring 44 points. The lead first reached double digits at 34-23 on a Matthews three. Williams then buried another long-distance shot for the 14-point spread, 44-30, after 12 minutes of game action.

"They shot the ball 85-percent in the first quarter, and were 7 for 7 from three, all we could do was pray and hope that they started missing shots," said Harrington.

The Knicks cut the deficit to four points at 51-47 on the heels of a 17-7 spurt in the first four-plus minutes of the second quarter. Rodriguez's trey capped the scoring stretch. The margin stood at 64-60 after 24 minutes of game action.

New York drew back within one point at 78-77 on Danilo Gallinari three-pointer just past the midway point of the third. Harrington's trey moments later tied the game at 84-84, and the contest was at a stalemate, 87-87, after three quarters.

Utah scored the first six points of the final period, and led 103-93 after Williams connected on one of his five three-pointers. The Jazz did not score over the final four minutes, but the Knicks never came closer than the final score.